catch on

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

catch on (third-person singular simple present catches on, present participle catching on, simple past and past participle caught on)

1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To understand; to begin to understand; to realize.

   Synonyms: cotton on, glom on

   He didn't have to explain; I caught on right away.

   She's been catching on pretty well.

2. (intransitive, idiomatic) To become popular; to become commonplace; to become the standard.

   It's a crummy idea, and I certainly hope it does not catch on.

   At first, many people didn't like that kind of music, but after a while it caught on.

3. (intransitive, New England, dated, of food) To become stuck to the cooking vessel; to brown or burn slightly.
   • 2011, Mark Gaier, Clark Frasier, Rachel Forrest, Ron Manville, Maine Classics: More than 150 Delicious Recipes from Down East, Philadelphia: Running Press, →ISBN, page 172:

     They waited for the pot roast to "catch on," sticking to the pot just enough to brown

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “become commonplace or standard”): go the way of the dinosaurs

Translations

to become popular

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} خَطَفَ الأَضْوَاءَ (ḵaṭafa l-ʔaḍwāʔa)
• Finnish: tarttua (fi)
• French: se répandre (fr)
• Italian: diffondersi (it), attecchire (it), prendere piede
• Spanish: calar (es), cuajar (es), pegar (es), prosperar (es), diquelar (es)

See also

• catch fire
• catch oneself on
• catch on fire
• catch up

 

References

• “catch on”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.